Parent group blasts Scot Govt’s ‘sex survey’ for kids

The chief executive of Scotland’s largest parent group has called on the Scottish Government to drop its controversial ‘sex survey’ for kids.

Eileen Prior of the children’s charity Connect said the survey was “inappropriate” in a letter to the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville.

Councils are being pushed to gather information through the ‘Health and Wellbeing Census’, a survey that asks teens as young as fifteen shocking sexual questions and primary children intrusive questions about their home life.

‘Unacceptable’

In her letter, Prior said: “There is no statement to say exactly who will look at data and what the research purposes are specifically”, adding that there is “no mention of how data will be stored” or “how access will be restricted or managed”.

Prior also expressed her shock at the explicit nature of some questions in the survey, stressing her concern at the “totally unacceptable” questions asking children about their personal lives.

It follows last week’s call from The Christian Institute for parents to write to local councillors to halt the survey’s wider roll-out.

The Institute’s Scotland Officer Nigel Kenny added: “If you do not have children in the relevant age groups, please still consider contacting your council leader to express your concerns – especially if you have grandchildren who are affected. And of course pupils can also refuse to respond to the survey too.”

Privacy worries

Since the survey was first announced, ten Scottish councils have decided to drop or review it, with the Information Commissioner also investigating data protection concerns.

The survey has been billed as anonymous, but it will be possible to trace answers back to individual children, as they will be required to use their student candidate number when filling it in – raising concerns over the privacy of sensitive personal information.